Thomas Lord: Cloaked, Ch. 13

While Blair went to get the family, Todd spent the rest of the morning finishing his third article. "Human Slavery - The Forgotten".  He had been driven to write it because of Kym.  He told her story without naming any names.  Of course, it was the story of all the young women and children that had been taken and enslaved over the years. He wanted to get their story out there. People should be made aware of what was going on in their own backyards. The last couple of days had only managed to rescue a couple of hundred children from the clutches of these anonymous men. There were more out there and everyone wanted to turn a blind eye to their plight. It was easier to look the other way than to get involved. He posted it to Amos and then began looking into some financial information he had managed to bring up about Daimler.

He found an interesting item concerning some back debts that Daimler owed to a Company formed by a Mr. Uchen. As Todd studied further, he noticed that Mr. Uchen's name came up a few more times. It was possible Uchen was Daimler's contact with the Yakuza. Uchen was something of a shadow himself. He had appeared out of nowhere and engineered a big takeover of a top Japanese business and now that business had taken over a number of other businesses. One of those businesses was affiliated with the Daimler Corporation. Todd began to wonder if it might be possible to sever Daimler's ties with the Yakuza and inadvertently use them to help him get Daimler. Todd flagged the page to come back to it.

He headed into the kitchen area of the penthouse looking for some means to make coffee when he heard the door open. He smiled as he heard the children exclaiming about the size of the place, he had been a little surprised himself, there were only two penthouses in the hotel and they took up the whole top floor of the hotel. This particular penthouse had six bedrooms and baths, as well as a kitchen, dining room, and main room. Sam and Jack were both pressuring Blair for a particular room. Todd had laid something of Blair's out in their room and the boys had figured out that was where their mother was sleeping, so they were fighting over the remaining five rooms. Todd stepped out the kitchen door and watched the scene with interest as Blair struggled to bring the boys under control.
Sensing she might need a little help, he said. "Addie gets to pick her room first."

Silence fell over the room as all eyes turned to him.

"What! She's got seniority it's only fair," he grinned and suddenly Sam barreled into him hugging him fiercely. "Hey buddy, it's good to see you too." Todd got down and gave Sam a real hug, he saw the tears forming and knew it was because Sam was missing his dad. "It's okay, pal."

"My dad is gone, You're not going anywhere are you?" Sam looked at him as a tear dropped from his eye.

"No Sam, I'm staying right here with you if that's okay." Todd was rewarded with another hug and he picked up the little boy and held him as he cried. As if on cue Starr came and gave her father and little brother a hug, followed by Addie giving him a kiss. Blair and Hope joined the group, all of them talking at once and none of them getting any answers as Todd looked at his son Jack standing alone. "Okay, give it to me now. Get it out in the open and then we can get past it."

"You just left, no word, nothing, and now you come back and we're supposed to just be happy to see you and believe you want to be with us. I hate you! You don't care about us or you wouldn't have left. Where were you when Mom was crying in her bedroom? Where were you when my dad was killed?"

"Jack how can you say such things, you don't even know why he left?" Starr couldn't believe her brother, she knew he had really missed Todd and yet now he was acting terribly with him.

"It's okay Starr. He's right, I don't have a good excuse for leaving. At the time I left, I thought I was protecting all of you from me, but I know now I can't justify what I did. I'm sorry Jack, I should have been there for you when Manning died. If you need to hate me, you go ahead, and when you're ready I'll be here to help you any way you want."

Jack just stared at him, he was angry but what he really wanted was the same hug Sam had gotten. His eyes filled with tears and he turned his back on his father and family because he didn't want any of them to see his tears.

Todd put Sam down and took a moment to give a little comfort to Blair, then he walked over to his son. "Jack, I am truly sorry," he touched his son's shoulder and Jack turned around looking directly into his dad's eyes and saw only love staring at him. His face fell and Todd pulled him into a hug holding him and letting him know he was loved. Todd remembered another man who had once held him the same way and he felt sad that he would never see Sam again.

****

Todd released his son and turned to the rest of the family. "So I believe this all started with who got what room. Addie, do you have any preferences?" He moved to Addie and took her hand and drew her towards the rooms, giving his son time to compose himself. " Do you prefer morning sun or afternoon sun?" He walked her down the hallway giving her a tour of the amenities for each room. The last room was the room she chose because it had a private balcony that you could see the ocean from. "Ahh, an excellent pick, Addie. I'll leave you to unpack while I get the rest of the family situated."

Addie stopped him as he turned to leave. "Todd, you don't have to hide your pain with Blair. She loves you with all her heart.  Give her a chance to help you.  I'm glad she found you."

Todd smiled, "I'm glad she found me too." he kissed her cheek and left her to unpack. Todd walked down the hall back to the main room. "I guess that means Starr and Hope pick next."

Starr looked at her brother Jack and said, "You go ahead, pick the one you want."

Todd stood back letting his son take his pick of the remaining rooms. After Jack had disappeared into the room he wanted, Starr picked out rooms for her and Hope. Todd turned to Sam, "There's one room left. It's close to Blair's and mine, will that one do Sam." Sam looked up and nodded silently. Todd picked up his bag and walked to the room right next to the room he and Blair would be sharing. He placed the bag down and said "Do you need any help putting your stuff away" Sam shook his head no. "Good, when you're done, come back out, your mom and I need to talk to everyone."

Todd joined Blair back out in the main room, "It's not Dragonheart, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

Blair reached up and shushed him. "Dragonheart isn't going anywhere and you still have a few more articles to write. I want to be able to go home when it's safe. At least we're all together right now. I don't care what roof we're under. Cassie took some pictures of some of the men following Addie and the children. She was going to send them to John, maybe the Feds will be able to round up some more of these people, and Hesser"s partners will realize they should back off before their whole organization comes tumbling down."

Todd pulled her into a hug, "I hope you're right. I don't like the idea that there is a bullet out there with my name on it and all of you are in danger because I went after Carlo." he squeezed her gently and released her as Starr came out with Hope.

"Dad, we would rather be with you here than in Llanview wondering if you were alive or not. What happened to Walker was dreadful and Tea and Dani are having a hard time right now. But they were with him until it happened and I know they don't regret having all that time. If you had been killed before Mom found you, we never would have known. There would have been just the feeling of loss with no conclusion. We would have always been wondering."

Todd felt humbled by her words. Jack had been right, he hadn't considered them when he had left. Once again, he had taken the cowards way rather than face his demons and in doing so he had hurt them more than if he would have stayed. He had a lot to make up for. "I appreciate what you're saying Starr, but this is still an upheaval for you and the boys. Sit down. When the boys get out here, I'll try and explain what is really happening here." Rather than continue any more discussion, Todd began playing with Hope until the boys and Addie rejoined them.

He waited until they all were sitting and then he started. "I know you're all tired from the long airplane flights and I'm sorry it was necessary to put you through that. Because of what happened to Walker and because whoever killed Walker is still out there, I can't go home just yet. Right now, the killer doesn't have any idea where Samuel Toddman is and the longer we can keep them looking the better. Since the killer doesn't know I'm here, your mother and I decided to move you down here for the time being and before you all get upset, I'll explain why. But first, Sam perhaps you and Hope would like to go watch some tv in your room," he paused. Sam nodded okay and took Hope's hand and headed to his room.

As soon as they entered the room, Todd turned back to everyone else. Starr, in particular, was looking upset and he knew she was thinking of her boyfriend James and the college classes she was going to miss. "Starr, I know your objections, but this is important. I attempted to send your mother home to get you and prepare you better for this, but she refused to leave. So we had to get you here another way. A great deal of thought went into the plan to make Hesser's partners think all you were with your Mom over in Europe looking for me. We want them to believe I left the country. If they believe it they'll be looking over there when I return to Llanview to testify against Hesser and Kipling. If you are here, they won't be able to use you to get to me."

Starr frowned "But won't they just follow you back here after you testify?"

"I plan to get into Llanview under the radar, give my testimony and disappear again. Once Hesser and Kipling are sentenced, I hope the partners will drop the kill order. This is only temporary I promise you, once they put Hesser and Kipling behind bars permanently, I believe the partners will back off. They've already drawn attention to themselves by putting out the hits on Walker and myself, I'm sure they're starting to feel the heat of the Feds getting close. I'm going to guess they'll want to get out of the Feds sight to preserve their anonymity." Todd stopped talking looking at Starr, Addie, and Jack and wondering if they understood everything.

Addie looked at both Blair and Todd and remarked. "I understand your desire to keep the children safe, but you don't have to worry about me. I'll stick around to help you set up house and then I'll go back home and wait for you."

"Momma we don't want you to be alone in Llanview and I need you here to help me." Blair glanced at Todd and hoped he would say something to stop Addie from going.

Todd jumped in even before he saw Blair's look. "Addie, we need you. I know I can't make you stay, you're free to do what you want, but Blair and I would be worried about you the whole time especially now that Dorian has left town. The killer could try and hurt you just as much as the children because of your relationship to Blair and I would never forgive myself if I let that happen. Besides, I've been in need of a mother for a long time and you've always been good to me. Please stay."

Addie looked at Todd and knew he was sincere. He was worried about her welfare and didn't want anything to happen to her. She knew he had always tried to be good to Blair and she was touched by his words. She knew a lot more of his story now than she ever had before. She and Blair had talked a long time one night. When Addie had been released after all those years in St. Anns, Blair and Walker had just remarried and were fighting for custody of Sam. Addie had been brought up to speed about everything Todd had done over the years. Blair had felt a love for Walker but it had never been complete even when she believed he was Todd. Oh, she had thought for a brief moment that he was the love of her life when Tea returned to town but had ended up backing away when she realized Walker loved Tea. Addie was sure she had unconsciously known Walker wasn't her Todd.

When Blair had returned from Paris at the beginning of the year after meeting Samuel, her whole attitude had changed. Addie had known something was different about her daughter and the first time she met Samuel she had known what it was. It had taken one look to realize that Samuel was the Todd she had met long ago at her birthday party. She had known that night why Blair was walking on air again. Blair had found the love of her life again and this time he was the real thing. All she had ever wanted for Blair was for her little girl to be happy and Todd made her happy. Addie could see no reason not to stay if they really wanted her there. She had just wanted to make sure Todd was okay with it. She nodded. "Very well I'll stay. Todd, you better be sure, I might be more than you bargained for in a mother-in-law."

Todd smiled "You've always been more than I bargained for Addie, but you've always been on my side. I love you for that."

****

Jack had been sitting quietly taking in what his real dad was saying. It was hard to believe his dad the whole while he was growing up was dead. Just like that he was gone and Jack's mother and real father were missing when it happened. His real dad was saying they were going to stay in Savannah for a while and Jack thought it was great. He didn't want to be back home with Walker dead and Shane in his face. In fact, he didn't want to go back at all. He was so deep in thought he barely felt Starr poke his side with her elbow. "What?" he looked at her angrily.

"Dad wanted to know if you were okay with staying here for a while. You could at least answer him."

"Hey, I don't care. If it gets me away from Shane Morasco and where Dad died, then I'm fine with it. Can I go to my room now?" Jack didn't even wait for a reply but got up and disappeared into his room.

Jack's answer fell into the category of grudgingly given yeses. A moment later Jack slammed his door shut. When Starr went to get up and go talk to him. Todd stopped her and said."Let him be, he gave us his answer and that"s good enough for now." Todd stared at his daughter she still hadn't given him any idea what she thought about the whole thing.

Starr had been thinking hard about everything her Dad had just told them and she knew why they had made the decision to get them all to Savannah, but she was reminded of the time Walker had attempted to move them all to Hawaii, and how she had been convinced he was just trying to keep her apart from Cole. Now that she was older she realized Walker had been attempting to protect them from Lee Ramsey but Walker hadn't told them about it. At least her dad was being honest and telling them the reason for the move. She was an adult with her own child now and she didn't have to stay in Savannah but was wanting to be with James a good enough reason to put her daughter and herself in harm's way. Someone had killed Walker and they were ruthless enough to use family members if they were going to get Samuel. She wouldn't put Hope in danger so she would stay with the family for now. "We'll stay Dad, but I'm not sure it will solve anything unless John and the Feds can get the man who killed Walker."

"It might not Starr, and if something doesn't change after I give my testimony then we'll rethink the situation. I don't intend to live my life on the run from these people and I want all of you safe. This is temporary. Once the trial is over, I'm hoping things will go back to normal. Thank you for agreeing to stay.   I know it is going to wreak havoc with your college schedule but hopefully, you can transfer for a short time and not lose ground. I'm also aware this is going to put your relationship with James on hold, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry Dad. I'll give him a call and explain and I won't tell him where we are, just why I'm gone for now. We'll find a way to make this work, but now I need to ask. Are you alright? You look a little ragged."

"I'll survive Starr and I'm much better now that I've got Blair back and all of you are safe. The last couple of days have just been a bit strenuous, you know me always getting myself worked up, it's just put some strain on me. You look marvelous and I've missed all of you."

Starr stood up and walked toward her dad, "Well I'm glad it's just a little strain" and then she kicked her dad hard in the shins "Don't you ever leave again without saying goodbye. I can't take it anymore."

Todd staggered back, but he couldn't help laughing, "Oww, Okay you got it Shorty. I'll be sure and tell you the next time I go off the deep end."

He held open his arms and she went in for the hug, but she heard his intake of breath as she squeezed and stepped back quickly. "What's the matter you said it was just strain."

"Really it's nothing, I'm just a little bruised around the ribs." Todd looked to Blair to back him up.

"Starr, he's okay and he's right it's nothing to worry about now, Your dad just got a little too close to some action last week while he was working on a story."

"That's right you said you were working here. What are you doing?" Starr was curious. Back home, her Dad would have been running the Sun but she had to wonder what had brought her Dad to Savannah.

Blair looked at Todd proudly and said "He's an investigative reporter for the Savannah Herald and is currently writing a terrific series for it. By the way, your dad is currently going by the name Thomas Lord, no one here knows him as Samuel Toddman and it has to remain that way. Remember Samuel Toddman is supposed to be somewhere over in Europe."

Starr turned to her Dad, "Hey that's great Dad so you're back in the newspaper business again. I think I'll miss the Artist, though. How are Tom and my other uncles."

"They're still here Shorty. They're just taking a back seat for the time being. You probably want to go get Hope settled, we'll order in pizza for lunch and everyone can relax. Is that agreeable?" as they all nodded, Todd walked to the phone to make the order. After lunch, Addie and the children crashed as the two flights finally took their toll. Todd looked over at Blair."I have to go see Kym. She saw the lawyer last night I need to make sure everything is okay."

Blair saw something in his face and got worried. "Do you think there's going to be trouble for Kym?"

"I'm not sure, I've just got this feeling I should check on her." Todd wanted to make sure Blair knew why he was concerned. Ever since finding out that Daimler was Kym's father as well as her "master", God, he hated that word, Todd had been worried Daimler might be upset to learn that Kym was receiving outside help and he might try and reassert his control over her. "I worried about Daimler and his control over Kym, Blair. Since he's so powerful he's probably been told that Kym's "uncle" has shown up and he'll be doing everything he can to find out about me. I need to keep him in the dark about me as much as possible. I'll be back soon I promise."

"You better be Mr.Lord, I won't lose you again. You know I'll come looking for you, so hurry home."

"I promise Blair, I just need to make sure she's alright." Todd gave her a quick kiss and left, determined to see Kym and get back to Blair and the family as soon as possible.

****

Todd got to the hospital in record time and gave his name to the guard on the ward. He made his way to Kym's room but wasn't prepared for what he found. Kym was hooked up to an IV and had a nurse watching her. "What the hell happened to my niece?

"I'm sorry sir, we were unable to reach you. Your niece was fine when her lawyer arrived, but a couple of hours after he left she was found on the floor and had apparently overdosed on a drug. It is uncertain how she even got the drug but it almost killed her and if we hadn't found her when we did, she would have died. Right now, the Doctor has her on a suicide watch and we're still investigating how she got the drug and why she tried to kill herself."

"Wait a minute why would you think she tried to kill herself. Couldn't someone else have tried to hurt her? She was fine when I saw her yesterday, just what kind of drugs did they find in her system?" Todd was beside himself, this was the bad feeling he had been having. Somehow Daimler or his associates had decided to cut their losses and thought Kym was a liability. She wouldn't have tried to kill herself, at least he hoped not. Just what had happened after the lawyer left?

"I'm sorry sir, I don't have that info, you'll have to speak to the doctor. I've just been instructed not to leave here and to monitor her. I believe her doctor is still on the floor. Perhaps someone at the desk can tell you more."

"Did she say anything?"

"As far as I know she hasn't yet woken up. She is stable at the moment. If you leave your contact number at the desk I'm sure they'll call you."

"I'm not leaving here without some answers, I'll talk to the Doctor." Todd left Kym's room, he was incensed. He had thought for sure that Kym would be safe in the ward at the hospital, but he had been wrong. Either someone gave Kym the drug or someone worked on her mind and she took it because of her training. One thing was certain Kym wasn't suicidal. Todd was able to track down the doctor and found out that the drug in Kym's system was some obscure Asian poison. The fact that the drug had no origins in the hospital had forced the doctor to come to the conclusion that someone had indeed attempted to harm or kill Kym and as such he had notified the police about the attempt on her life. The doctor told Todd additional security was going to be provided for Kym and until then a nurse was to be with her at all times.

Todd walked back down towards Kym's room, his mind racing. Was Daimler aware that his partners had tried to take out his daughter? Would it even bother him if they did? Since he treated Kym like a piece of property, Todd had good reason to believe Daimler might have had something to do with this himself. Perhaps he had known she would be found before she died. Maybe he was trying to get a message to Kym to be silent or more might happen. Todd was more determined than ever now, he had to get Kym released into his custody and get her some proper protection.

He walked into the room and went up to the bed and looked down on her. She had never asked to be taken by the slavers, she had just been a child and had survived the only way she knew how, by doing as she was told for all those years. Now she was so close to freedom and Daimler was pulling her back in, showing his power. Todd saw she had opened her eyes. "Hey don't try and talk. You're alright, but it was a close call. You should just try and sleep right now. No one else is going to hurt you, when you're up to it you can tell us what happened."

Kym shook her head no, and Todd saw the fear on her face. Daimler had succeeded. Kym was terrified of her father. He had gotten to her somehow, and all the progress she had made to break free from him had just fallen all the way back to zero. Todd leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Kym don't give in to him. It's not all hopeless. You have a sister out there who is waiting to meet you. You need to try and fight him and his control. I'll help and so will she. Please believe me."

When he told her about her sister, he saw a small glimmer of hope appear in her eyes. "That's what I want to see. It's true Kym, fight him and you'll meet your sister. I promise, and you know I've kept my promises so far. We can beat him." he reached and squeezed her hand, "They're going to be watching over you all night and you'll have extra guards tomorrow. This won't happen again." Todd nodded to the nurse, "Take care of her. This was no suicide attempt, this was a murder attempt. You'll be getting help watching her soon. Kym, I need to go now, but I'll be back tomorrow."

Todd arrived back at the hotel. He had pretended to doze off in the taxi because it had been necessary to have a chat with Pete. Pete had wanted to track down Daimler and string him up and as much as Todd wanted to give in to his urges, it was clear he had to attack Daimler a different way. Todd had finally gotten Pete to settle down and was grateful to see the hotel right in front of him when he opened his eyes.

Letting himself into the penthouse suite, he noticed Starr and Jack engrossed in something on TV.  He walked over to the bar and got himself a drink, a stiff one. He took his drink and went and sat next to Starr.  A drink and some mindless entertainment were what he needed at that moment and he was spending it with his daughter and son. When the show ended Starr and Jack left to go to bed and Todd closed his eyes reliving the moment when he walked into Kym's room. He really didn't want those thoughts his head was pounding. Just then, he felt Blair's hands begin to rub his temples and he let himself relax just a little more. Her hands were working miracles and he felt his tension subside. He reached up and grabbed her hands and gently kissed the inside palm of each, then released them and looked up into her beautiful face. "I love you."

Blair walked around and stood in front of him and held out her hand. "I love you too. Let me show you just how much."

Blair had watched Todd enter the suite and when he went straight to the bar, she had known something was wrong. When he sat down next to Starr, she figured he would start to relax and enjoy the show with the kids. Blair had said goodnight to Addie, and checked on Hope, then had tucked in Sam, reading one of the books he had brought with him. They had talked about his dad and then she had held him until he fell asleep. Blair heard Jack and Starr go into their rooms and she wandered out to the sitting room noticing Todd still sitting on the couch. He looked so tired and upset and she couldn't resist helping him. She stood looking down at him, her hand outstretched. As he took it, she pulled him to his feet and led him toward the bedroom.

Blair led him to the bed and sat him down and slowly began undoing his buttons and peeling his shirt off. She climbed on the bed behind him and began massaging his broad shoulders, shushing him when he started to talk. "Let me do this. Just enjoy it." she felt his muscles all bunched up and slowly kneaded the kinks out. Then she began to caress his chest and arms, as her tongue and lips played across his back. With each kiss, his muscles twitched and she knew he was slowly getting turned on. She had started her hands wandering down towards his belt when he grabbed them and slipped out of her arms, turning to face her.

Todd had taken as much as he could but when her hands had begun drifting south his passion roared to life and he had to take control. He caught her hands and moved from her embrace to stand facing her as she knelt on the bed. Her lips were moist and her tongue flicked out to wet them some more. She looked at him, begging him to continue the dance she had just begun. Todd reached over and took hold of her blouse and lifted it slowly over her head then he carefully reached behind her and removed her bra, letting her breasts free, cupping them and kneading them the way she had kneaded his muscles. She arched in pleasure at the sensations beginning to well up in her at his ministrations.

Laying her down, Todd removed her slacks and snagged her delicate panties slipping them free of her perfect body. Then as she gazed at him avidly he finished undressing and joined her on the bed, capturing her moist lips and meeting her tongue playfully with his own. While his lips were so engaged, his hands began fondling her gorgeous body, caressing all of her beautiful curves, feeling her quiver beneath him. His hand delved between her legs and found her ready for him. But instead of taking her, he rolled her on top of him, letting her take back control.

Blair took control and rode him like the wild stallion she had once ridden. They were galloping faster and faster to what seemed like heaven reaching the height together and then he caught her as she collapsed in his arms happily spent. She nestled in his arms gently caressing his chest with her fingers as his hand played with her hair. "Thank you," Blair said sleepily and she slowly drifted off.

Todd continued to stroke her hair and hold her close almost afraid to fall asleep in case this was all another dream. His monster had stirred for a short time this evening just after he had left the hospital. It had been wanting revenge against Daimler for hurting Kym. He had barely gotten it under control when Pete had demanded his attention. By the time he had arrived at the suite, he had been barely holding it together. Somehow Blair had known he was on the edge. God he loved her. She was the only one keeping his monster at bay. He had to make sure neither Daimler's nor Hesser's goons came anywhere near Blair or his family. Pulling her tighter into his arms he let himself drift off to sleep.